I am a professional photographer located in Virginia Beach, Virginia and I am looking to attend Katsucon for the first time! I'm pretty excited, I've only ever attended the local conventions (Nekocon and Anime Mid-Atlantic). I'm really looking forward to getting my name out there and expanding my convention list!

Help me make Katsu part of my regular convention list!

I will be booking 1 hour mini sessions on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Spaces are limited so keep an eye out for the official release of my sales flyer on my Facebook fan page! Prices and what the sessions includes will be released on the flyer. =)

... as you might have guessed, most con attendees simply won't be able or willing to pay the same prices that you might be able to charge for family portraits, corporate work, or other private sessions - especially when there are plenty of equally talented photographers doing it for free or for twenty bucks.

Good luck, though. I'd be honestly quite interested to know if you get any bookings at that rate.

I think I will give out a tad bit of criticism before this gets out of hand.

Since I can tell you are new to this there are a few things you should know about setting up cosplay photography shoots.
Most cosplayers do not have a lot of money (I am a cosplayer myself) and since this is a newer art form it is expected that photographers offering their services do not charge standard prices. Some even strongly believe it should always be for free. Personally the most I would ever consider paying for a shoot is from alucardleashed who starts at $40.

I also found your thread title very misleading. I initially believed you were offering your services for free or for a very low cost.
When I offer paid sessions I typically allow up to an hour. I rarely go past 45 minutes. On a few rare occasions I have offered half/mini shoots which are half the price for 20 minutes. At one point I was able to afford to offer my services for free and those typically had a similar time span.

Your prices also suggest a goal of profit and a marginally large one (3 shoots=$450+!). While I do not want to speak for everyone I will say that majority of what I earn from my shoots are used to cover some of the travel expenses. There are no conventions where I live and offering photoshoots has become my only means of going to several. What your starting rate offers is around what I typically make an entire weekend of shooting (I don't get to enjoy the con itself much...). If you looking to profit from convention shoots I would suggest stopping.

Your technical quality is good so I am not going to critique that too much. If you want to make a name for yourself in the community then please consider some of what I just written above.

To anyone reading: her prices seem standard enough, but just not for this.

Edit: Looks like some people beat me to posting similar thoughts while writing all that ^_^

Thank you for your replies and input! Cosplaying is quite the investment and there are cosplayers out there who want to follow up that investment with quality photography. =)

My pricing does start at $150, I specialize in photographing women, you receive one on one 30 minute sessions (one hour sessions for those who upgrade their package), you are helped to pose in a way that makes you look your very best, you're final images are professionally edited, you receive low resolution files to share on whatever medium you like, you're given a gallery in my online print store to order whenever is convenient for you, and to finish off this run on sentence, you're gifted an 8x10 lustre print with your regular mini session package (upgraded packages receive an 8x12 ready to hang wall print, it's backed by foam, is sturdy and looks gorgeous).

If you're interested in booking with me, please feel free to check out my Facebook page to see what I am capable of providing you, www.facebook.com/JessicaSevinPhotography, my email is JessicaSevin@yahoo.com. I actually do have 2 solid bookings so far as well as a few other inquiries, with limited spaces available, those who are interested should inquire soon! =)

Have a great day and I hope you guys all have an amazing time at Katsucon! I know I will!

man, I'd love to work with you. Your work is incredible. But cosplay takes all my money, I wish I could afford you!

Have fun at the con, Katsu's really pretty so I look forward to the pics you take there!

Thank you so much DespairedPhoenix!! Cosplay is definitely quite the investment! I have friends who've dropped quite a bit into their armor and so on! I'm always SO impressed at how amazing and intricate cosplayers can be! I do hope you follow me on Facebook and maybe one day we could work together! =)

My pricing does start at $150, I specialize in photographing women, you receive one on one 30 minute sessions

So...300 dollars for an hour session ($150 for 30 minutes)...of low resolution "digital prints"...with a link to your "store" in which you can PAY more to get higher resolution photos...and a WHOLE ONE 8X10 PRINT.

For a hundred fifty for a half hour, I would expect high resolution photos, glossy prints of everything, and way better photography skill than you're showing in your pictures.

There are plenty of cosplay photographers that do much better shots (and much better photo editing,) for free. Hear that? Free. It's quite obvious that the only people taking advantage of your prices are novices that don't know better and people who, sorry to say, are so unskilled at the craft that they can't GET people to take pictures of them.

So basically, you're taking advantage of noobs.

Not cool.

(congratulations on actually getting me to post for the first time in years)

I'm well aware that some may view what I offer as "not valuable", that is a GOOD thing. It shows you're not my client, if my price is high and you still book me, it shows you value me, that is also a GOOD thing.

I hope you find the photographers that fit your needs and budget for Katsucon. I sincerely do! That's the wonderful thing about being the consumer, you purchase what you want, what you value, and nothing more. <3

Hope your shoots at Katsucon go smoothly! I understand completely why your pricing is the way it is... speaking from personal experience, the editing process can take a lot of time and care, and your photos are always so professional. You really are a great photographer! The lighting and composition is always spot on.
I understand why some people think it's expensive. For those of us that work for minimum wage, that's nearly a week's worth of income! And a lot of people that attend cons don't have a lot of money to spare (or if they do, they spend it all on anime dvds), and they're used to getting free photoshoots at conventions. But those photographers are usually older men willing to do photoshoots for free for young women.. and the atmosphere of the shoots can be uncomfortable. In my experience, those photographers aren't interested on whether or not you look as nice as you want to look, and I've had some bad experiences with photographers posting my photos on sites degrading to women - all without my consent. The fact is that booking a professional photographer, as JL7 is, is a choice that isn't best for everyone. If you feel like you don't have the funds and you're find with the pictures and environment provided by free con photographers, then that's your opinion and that's what's best for you. You don't have to book with JL7, she's not forcing you to. But some people DO have the funds, and they want the professional environment, modeling help, and privacy & quality of pictures that she provides. Those people can book JL7 and be happy, but no one else who doesn't want to needs to get their panties in a twist! Calm down guys. This is a market economy and photographers have to make money somehow. I've been to a few professional photo sessions for family photos... and let me tell you, they charge infinitely more than jl7. The last time my family went to a studio, they wanted to charge us over $1,000 for a few pictures... and that was without the extra bonus of editing!
So some of us poor cosplayers can't afford these prices... so what? Stick with free photos then, that's what's best for you. Don't hate on people who want to hire more expensive photographers, and definitely don't hate on the photographers. There's really no reason to spread the hate in this community.
Looking forward to seeing you all at Katsu! Hopefully we've all calmed down and will be able to spread the cosplay love by then.